De Beers Grading Firm Makes Asian Debut

RAPAPORT... Soo Kee Group will become the first Singaporean jewelry retailer
to offer gemological reports from De Beers grading unit.

The inaugural Asian retail partnership will allow Soo Kee to
offer bespoke reports from the International Institute of Diamond Grading &
Research (IIDGR) for its Lovemarque diamond collection, De Beers said. IIDGR launched
its services in early 2016.

“We’ve seen a significant uplift in demand for our grading
services in many markets, especially in the Far East,” said Jonathan Kendall,
president of IIDGR. “Alongside the Soo Kee Group partnership, we have plans to
expand the grading service elsewhere in Asia. However, we see this as just the
start.”

The Lovemarque collection is part of Soo Kee’s bridal-jewelry
brand, Love & Co. As part of the deal, each Lovemarque stone will bear a
unique IIDGR identification number in addition to a Love & Co. hallmark
inscription.

Soo Kee operates more than 60 stores in Singapore and
Malaysia. Last year, it collaborated with Sarine Technologies, a supplier of
diamond-mapping devices, for using Sarine’s diamond-display equipment at its outlets.